ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — Students sitting the 2016 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) will have a choice of seven high schools for secondary school placement.

This is up from the five school choices of previous years.

Minister of Education, Ronald Thwaites, in making the disclosure at a Leadership in Education Award Ceremony at the Retrieve All-Age School in Westmoreland recently, said the first five choices can be schools located anywhere in the island.

“However, the six and seventh choices require parents to choose two high schools that are near to the primary school the student currently attends. The Ministry has provided a list of the high school clusters near primary schools,” he informed.

The education minister noted that primary schools are now registering students for GSAT, which is the placement examination for secondary school.

He informed that 98 per cent of students, who sit GSAT, are placed in a secondary school, with more than 70 per cent placed in a school of their choice.

He noted that there have been steady improvement in test scores, and a “significant number” of candidates have been achieving full scores in all the subject areas, including mathematics.

“Our primary schools are doing well in numeracy. Although the grade four target was revised to 85 per cent by 2018, the out-turn for 2015 was 68 per cent, which is a 17 per cent increase since 2012,” he said.

He credited the improvements in numeracy to measures put in place by the Ministry, including the deployment of more than 60 mathematics coaches to primary and secondary institutions to help improve teaching skills.

Thwaites said the removal of schools from the shift system has also boosted teaching and learning outcomes.

“In 2011, there were 107 primary and secondary schools on shift, depriving students of more than one hour of instruction time each day. The Government has taken more than half of these off shift, with the remainder targeted for removal by 2018,” he informed.

The Education Minister also hailed the contribution of the school leaders, noting that they have been “going the extra mile to raise the bar” in their respective institutions.

The Leadership in Education Award is issued to an exceptional principal based on visionary and quality education leadership, commitment to education, professional development, community involvement, communication skills, scholarly work, and employment status. The 2015 recipient is Principal of Retrieve All-Age, Yvonne Ward-Hardie.

Thwaites, in offering congratulations, said Ward-Hardie has a record of quality work and service to the education system.

He noted that good leadership is critical in education. “A school makes or breaks depending on the quality of leadership in place,” he said.

Thwaites commended the Jamaica Teaching Council for instituting the award, noting that it will go a far way “in incentivising other principals to develop and practise effective leadership that will redound to excellent education outcomes.”

He noted that the award, along with leadership training being undertaken by the National College for Educational Leadership, will “ensure that our students are provided with a good education because this Administration believes that education is the key to prosperity.”